A South London music festival is at risk of being shut down after a nearby music school complained about having to cancel a performance and reschedule open days due to the noise this year.

International Management Group, the promoter behind Greenwich Summer Sounds, is having its licence to hold events at the Old Royal Naval College reviewed by Greenwich Council.

The Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance put in an application for the review after the event that took place from July 4-8 this year.

Council documents said the school is currently situated in the King Charles Building, which is west of Lower Ground Square where the festival takes place.

The school added that its location means it is “very obviously” going to be impacted by the festival.

They said in the application: “It is unacceptable for Trinity Laban Conservatoire’s essential educational activities to be disrupted in this way and we would hope that Royal Borough of Greenwich would support that.

"The damage to our organisation was sustained despite us making representations… We are therefore requesting that IMG’s licence be reviewed and revoked.”

The school claimed that it requested for the festival to be postponed by a week until its open days and academic term were over, but this was denied.

It added that the open days were rescheduled to the previous week as a result, but were still affected by noisy preparatory work at the festival site.

Trinity Laban Conservatoire claimed that it was forced to reschedule a planned performance due to the works, and that the organiser did not carry out any noise monitoring during the event.

The school then undertook its own independent noise monitoring and said external noise levels significantly exceeded the limit specified for the event.

Large music festivals have reportedly been held at the Old Royal Naval College since 2011, with the 2023 Greenwich Summer Sounds festival being the first event run by the current promoter and the first major event since the Covid pandemic.

The company’s current licence allows it to provide live or recorded music and dance performances between midday and 11pm, as well as sell alcohol.

Council documents said events must also be held in accordance with a noise management plan approved by Greenwich Council.

The noise management strategy for the 2023 event, provided by Joynes Nash acoustic consultants, said the promoters and their advisors were committed to proactively managing noise for the event.

They added that the stage manager and sound engineers would be briefed before shows on how to limit any disturbance outside the venue.

A member of Greenwich Council’s community protection team said no formal complaints had been received about the event from locals, but recommended that the promoter should work with the music school to address their concerns.

A local resident who lives near the festival site wrote to the licensing team for Greenwich Council following the application for the review.

She said while the event disrupts her peace “to some degree”, she felt those living closer to the premises were more likely to be worse affected.

She said: “I will say in mitigation that the noise from these events is much better controlled than it has been in the past and, in my case, I’m willing to put up with it as long as it doesn’t get any worse than it is now and doesn’t extend to any more evenings than now.”

The council has the power to modify the conditions of the premises licence, as well as suspend it for a short period of time or revoke it entirely.

The decision on whether to revoke International Management Group’s licence will be discussed at a licensing review sub-committee meeting on October 16.